TAR15, Recap Leg 2, 9/27/09

Welcome to Leg 2! Last time, on Ret’s Pray Sushi Roulette! WA-SA-BI!, teams raced from Los Angeles to Tokyo, Japan. (Toyouke: *smacks Kmanpat*) The Yoga instructors were knocked out of the running in the surprise starting line task, and the remaining eleven teams played Japanese game shows and led a group of Japanese tourists around Japan. Tiffany and Maria found themselves in last place with a two hour penalty due to losing two tourists, but it was the first non-elimination leg, so they are around to race another day. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)


Arrival at the pit stop last episode:
1st – Meghan/Cheyne, The Preschool Sweethearts, arrived at 12:19 PM
2nd – Zev/Justin, Team Aspergers, arrived at 12:36 PM
3rd – Lance/Keri, Team Street Lawyer, arrived at 12:40 PM
4th – Marcy/Ron, The Oldsters, arrived at 12:41 PM
5th – Flight Time/Big Easy, The Globetrotters, arrived at 12:42 PM
6th – Brian/Ericka, Yin-Yang, arrived at 12:44 PM
7th – Gary/Matt, Pinky and the Brain, arrived at 12:45 PM
8th – Garrett/Jessica, The Waffles, arrived at 12:51 PM
9th – Sam/Dan, The Hot Boys, arrived at 12:54 PM
10th – Mika/Canaan, Team Bathtub, arrived at 1:03 PM
11th – Maria/Tiffany, Team Poker, arrived at 3:22 PM

Konno Hachimangu Shrine, Tokyo, Japan

12:19 AM Meghan/Cheyne (1st)
Clue: Fly from Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! Once you arrive, find the Xemien Tay Bus Station and book tickets on a bus to Cai Bei, Vietnam. Once there, race on foot to the Bên Tàn Du Lich Boat Dock to get your next clue. You have $444 for this leg of the race.

Meghan and Cheyne decide to have their taxi take them directly to the airport to book a flight.

12:36 AM Zev/Justin (2nd) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight. They find the earliest direct flight to Vietnam at 10:35 AM. (Toyouke: “Wow, how convenient that they are using Travelocity!”)

12:40 AM Lance/Keri (3rd) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight. Keri: “We’re going to Ho Cho Man City!” (Toyouke: How do you misprounounce "Ho Chi Minh"? I mean, "Minh", OK, but "Ho" and "Chi" are pretty easy.”)

12:41 AM Marcy/Ron (4th) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight. Ron: “I’m going to Vietnam, where are you going?”

12:42 AM Flight Time/Big Easy (5th) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight. I sense a pattern here.
12:44 AM Brian/Ericka (6th) – who drive to the airport. And we hear the Rattlesnakes of Discontent.
12:45 AM Gary/Matt (7th) – who also drive directly to the airport.
12:51 AM Garrett/Jessica (8th) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight.
12:54 AM Sam/Dan (9th) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight.
1:03 AM Mika/Canaan (10th) – who go back to the hotel’s internet café to book a flight. Mika talks about how wonderful her boyfriend is for not having sex with her yet. (Toyouke: “Shouldn't your boyfriend WANT to have sex with you? I mean, if you don't want him I'll take him.” Kmanpat: “Agreed. Looks like another Millie/Chuck, and you remember how much fun they were.”)
3:22 AM Maria/Tiffany (11th) – who basically go to the airport because they are so far behind. Tiffany: “I’m the brawn. Maria is the brains. And the boobs.” Hee.

Teams arrive at Narita International Airport.

The four teams that didn’t book ahead find themselves at the airline counter. However, there are no more economy seats, thanks to the quick thinking of the other eight teams. (Toyouke: “And that is why you book tickets in advance.”) Yin-Yang pleads for them to pay economy but sit in business (which I haven’t heard teams do in a long time). The airline finally relents, and then the other teams call Yin-Yang shady and manipulative. Really? They just got you all seats on the same flight. So, hush you.

So, teams arrive in Ho Chi Minh City in the following order:

1- Sam/Dan – who are in the same cab as . . .
2- Maria/Tiffany – who get spotted at the airport and caught in their little lie of who they really are. (Toyouke: “The lie only lasted one episode. Both the poker lie and the gay lie.”)
3- Flight Time/Big Easy
4- Mika/Canaan
5- Marcy/Ron
6- Zev/Justin
7- Gary/Matt
8- Garrett/Jessica
9- Brian/Ericka
10- Lance/Keri
11- Meghan/Cheyne

Teams then take cabs to Xemien Tay Bus Depot. However, the streets are fairly full of water. (Toyouke: “This flooding is crazy.”) So teams arrive at the bus station in the following order:

1- Maria/Tiffany
2- Sam/Dan
3- Flight Time/Big Easy
4- Mika/Canaan
5- Marcy/Ron
6- Zev/Justin
7- Gary/Matt
8- Garrett/Jessica
9- Brian/Ericka
10- Lance/Keri – Lance can’t seem to understand Vietnamese culture. (Toyouke: “Shut up Lance.”)
11- Meghan/Cheyne

Teams get on busses in the following order:

Bus 1, leaves at 3:30 PM
1- Maria/Tiffany
2- Sam/Dan
3- Flight Time/Big Easy
4- Mika/Canaan
5- Marcy/Ron

Bus 2, leaves at 4:45 PM
1- Zev/Justin
2- Gary/Matt
3- Garrett/Jessica
4- Brian/Ericka
5- Lance/Keri
6- Meghan/Cheyne

We find out that busses can leave as soon as they are full. So the teams on Bus 2 decide to buy up the remaining seats so that the bus can leave before 4:45. Which, is a really good idea. (Toyouke: “Interesting...Not really bribery but willingness to pay for the rest of the tickets so they don't lose any money.”) Teams then arrive in Cai Bei and run to the Bên Tàn Du Lich Boat Dock . . . which is closed until 7 am. So much for leaving early. So, teams hang around and eat Vietnamese street food and camp out on folding chairs.

At 7 am, the dock opens and teams rush in. Teams arrive at the clue box in the following order:

1- Gary/Matt
2- Meghan/Cheyne
3- Brian/Ericka
4- Marcy/Ron
5- Zev/Justin
6- Flight Time/Big Easy
7- Mika/Canaan – and Mika informs us of her fear of water. (Toyouke: “Not another hydrophobe.”)
8- Garrett/Jessica
9- Lance/Keri
10- Sam/Dan
11- Maria/Tiffany

However, once they arrive, Maria and Tiffany find the Speed Bump.

SPEED BUMP:

A speed bump is a task that must be performed by the last place team on a non-elimination leg. Once they complete this task, they may return to the place where the speed bump occurred and continue the leg. In this, the first of three speed bumps on this race, teams must travel to a soup stand, where the vendor will give them all of the ingredients for Pho. Teams then take the ingredients back to the dockmaster, for whom they prepare the Pho to order. Once they are done, they may get their next clue.

Teams complete the Speed Bump in the following order:

1- Maria/Tiffany

So, Maria and Tiffany prepare Pho, get their clue, and try to catch up with everyone.

Now, if a team didn’t have to do the Speed Bump, teams choose a sampan and travel across the river to a mud dock filled with nutrient mud. Once teams arrive, they choose a tree and fill pans full of mud to cover the entire root system of the tree up to a marking. (Toyouke: “That doesn't look like covering. That looks like smearing mud.”) Once the roots are covered, the farmers will give them the next clue. (Toyouke: “I enjoy the locals laughing at people...although that male farmer looks pretty white.”)

Teams complete the task in the following order:

1- Meghan/Cheyne
2- Garrett/Jessica
3- Brian/Ericka
4- Gary/Matt
5- Flight Time/Big Easy
6- Sam/Dan
7- Marcy/Ron
8- Lance/Keri
9- Zev/Justin
10- Mika/Canaan
11- Maria/Tiffany

Once teams finish with the mud, they are instructed to head back in their sampan to the dock. Once there, teams travel on foot to Cai Bei field to get their next clue.

Teams arrive at the dock in the following order:

1- Meghan/Cheyne
2- Garrett/Jessica
3- Brian/Ericka
4- Gary/Matt
5- Flight Time/Big Easy
6- Sam/Dan
7- Lance/Keri
8- Marcy/Ron
9- Mika/Canaan
10- Zev/Justin – who had dropped their clue in the water when Justin had fallen in.
11- Maria/Tiffany

Teams then race to the field and arrive in the following order:

1- Meghan/Cheyne
2- Garrett/Jessica
3- Brian/Ericka
4- Gary/Matt
5- Flight Time/Big Easy
6- Sam/Dan
7- Lance/Keri
8- Marcy/Ron
9- Mika/Canaan
10- Zev/Justin
11- Maria/Tiffany

And teams come to the second roadblock.

ROADBLOCK:
Who’s feeling just ducky?
In this roadblock, one team member must perform duck herding. (Toyouke: “Hee...herding ducks. “) They have 10 minutes to herd 150 ducks using a pair of flags across a bridge to the other side, back again, and into the pen. If teams are unable to complete in ten minutes, they return to the back of the line and wait for an open course before trying again. Once completed, teams get their next clue.

The following team members complete the Roadblock.

1- Meghan
2- Jessica
3- Ericka – who gives us a lovely view of her bright yellow thong. (Auburnium513: “Clearly Miss America wears a thong.”)
4- Matt
5- Flight Time
6- Sam
7- Keri
8- Marcy
9- Mika
10- Zev – who is apparently the duck whisperer. Zev: “I didn’t even know.”
11- Tiffany

After much duck herding, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Sam/Dan
2- Gary/Matt
3- Flight Time/Big Easy
4- Lance/Keri
5- Zev/Justin
6- Maria/Tiffany
7- Meghan/Cheyne
8- Mika/Canaan
9- Marcy/Ron
10- Brian/Ericka
11- Garrett/Jessica

Teams get their clue and find that they must now travel on foot to Cho Cai Bei and find the Bassac III, a Vietnamese riverboat and the PIT STOP of the second leg of this racearoundtheworld. (Toyouke: “Oo! They're using the yellow-and-white flags again!” Kmanpat: “Well, they are in Vietnam. They have to.”) The last team to arrive MAY be eliminated!

1- Gary/Matt – who each win a kayak.
2- Flight Time/Big Easy
3- Sam/Dan
4- Lance/Keri
5- Zev/Justin
6- Meghan/Cheyne
7- Maria/Tiffany
8- Mika/Canaan
9- Marcy/Ron
10- Brian/Ericka
11- Garrett/Jessica

And Garrett and Jessica are gone. Just as Garrett’s temper flared up. Jessica lets us know that they are a stronger team than they showed. Oh well, maybe your ducks were just broken.

ORDER NOW:
1st – Gary/Matt
2nd – Flight Time/Big Easy
3rd – Sam/Dan
4th – Lance/Keri
5th – Zev/Justin
6th – Meghan/Cheyne
7th – Maria/Tiffany
8th – Mika/Canaan
9th – Marcy/Ron
10th – Brian/Ericka

Next week: Teams travel back to Ho Chi Minh City. Zev breaks a giraffe. And Lance destroys things. Until next time!